


On The Isle

by MarBere123



Category: Gundam SEED
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, AsuCaga, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 19:41:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29971326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarBere123/pseuds/MarBere123
Summary: A short story about the princess of a neutral country and a soldier from one of the warring nations.AU - asucaga implied.
Relationships: Cagalli Yula Athha/Athrun Zala
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	1. First Chapter

**Author's Note:**

> So! I've been trying to write about this pairing for a long time now and I finally did it!   
> I want to say tho that this fic is based on the episode in which Athrun & Cagalli met, but that's all. It's an AU, not a different take. Also, any comment is welcome. I'd really like to know what you think about it.
> 
> Anyway! I hope you enjoy it!

"Do not shoot."

Athrun frowned when he heard a female voice. His eyes focused on the person who slowly began to emerge from her hiding place behind a thick log, but at no time did he lower the gun.

Just because she was a woman didn't mean she wasn't a soldier.

However, a soldier wouldn't be wearing a long, notoriously high-quality dress or raising her hands as soon as she saw an enemy.

She had blonde hair, not much longer than his. Her face was delicate, but with a strong gaze.

She was really beautiful.

But that didn't stop Athrun from being suspicious. They were practically in the middle of nowhere, his mobile suit had fallen there no more than 10 minutes ago and it didn't seem that it was an inhabited island.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" he asked her still without lowering the gun.

She, surprisingly, kept her gaze on him. It wasn't like she wasn't scared, but she seemed to want to keep her pride.

"Cagalli," she said. She seemed to hesitate a bit and then added. "My name is Cagalli and I need your help, please."

_Cagalli?_

For a moment, he thought that he had heard that name before. Then dismissed it.

He nodded so she could continue, and she did.

"My... companions are seriously injured. Someone attacked us unexpectedly, before we could identify ourselves. The pilot made a forced landing, but I'm afraid he didn't survive."

Once again, Athrun refrained from relaxing his facial expression. A crash landing, plus two seriously injured people and one dead, but this girl had managed to get out unscathed, with just the hem of her dress dirty .

It could be a trap.

"Please..."

But her amber eyes and his good nature forced him to nod.

She lowered her arms right after Athrun put the gun away from her.

Then he turned around.

"Eh? Where are you going?" Cagalli, as she said her name was, hastened to follow him.

Athrun didn't stop to reply.

"To get the first aid kit," he replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

He heard her say "oh right!" as if she was just thinking about it and he wondered if she had forgotten that such things existed before she went to seek help.

He smiled to himself.

"What is so funny?" and he wiped his smile when he heard her next to him.

He hadn't felt her at all, and for a moment it put him on guard.

Athrun cleared his throat.

"You're not a soldier at all," he commented randomly.

They were near to where he had left his mobile suit. She raised an eyebrow.

"I never said I was."

"You're right."

And then she exclaimed a slight "oh" as she stopped, when her eyes found Athrun's gundam. For a moment, Cagalli looked intimidated, but she soon regained her composure and her expression returned to being serious.

Athrun decided not to question. As far as he was concerned, she could be one of the many victims of the war and he didn't want and shouldn't see beyond the battles, beyond what they left.

Athrun was a soldier after all.

Although the road was quiet, it wasn't uncomfortable or pleasant. Cagalli led the way quickly, even though she seemed to be struggling to walk in the dress through the brush, sand, and small forest.

Every now and then, she would stop to see if he was following her and once she verified, she continued on the way.

Being a soldier, Athrun had no problem keeping up; however, he wondered if a normal civilian could do it.

"Is it very far?" he asked.

He had already assumed that she wasn't a soldier, but he was still worried about leaving his mobile suit alone.

She didn't stop. She seemed like she didn't even hear him.

"Kisaka!"

It was in less than a second that she disappeared down the sloping part. Athrun, as much as he wanted to deny it, felt a little concern and hastened to follow her.

In front of him, the scene she described came to life. The plane, which was smaller than a commercial one, had ended up with the cockpit practically crashing into many trees, ripping them apart in the process —and causing Athrun to rethink the size of the island. Apart from Cagalli, there were two other men, in uniform. One of them older than the other and both badly injured.

Judging from what he saw as he approached, the man who was most notoriously injured was named Kisaka, while the other, the oldest, was leaning against a large stone.

"Kisaka! Kisaka!" Cagalli shook the man, but got no response. At that moment, Athrun decided to get closer.

"He's not breathing," he said, although it didn't take a genius to notice.

Without waiting for an answer, he approached the other man.

_Honestly_ , Athrun told himself, he shouldn't be doing that. His job was not to save random people and he wasn't required to play a good Samaritan, but he was already there.

Being less than a meter away, the man suddenly opened his eyes, but it was only when Athrun saw concern aside from surprise that he became alert.

"Princess, don't!"

_Princess?_

That's when the usual weight of his weapon disappeared from his hip. Well, he noticed. He had underestimated her.

Slowly, he turned to face her.

"It's your fault!" she screamed when she pointed the gun at him.

Athrun didn't want to upset her further, but thinking of what to say wasn't helping him much. He wasn't the most skilled with words.

So he was silent.

Cagalli's arms trembled. Not so much from the weight of the weapon, but from the crying.

"It's because of you— Kisaka is... He is—!"

"Princess... this young man was not the one who attacked us," the old man in uniform said. He seemed to be making a lot of effort, so Athrun assumed he was getting up, but didn't look to see if he was right.

"I don't mean that!" then Cagalli looked at him again and Athrun, once again, couldn't find the right words to say. "This senseless war... If their country hadn't initiated it, Kisaka would now be—!"

And she was right.

Athrun would not deny it. Because of him, a lot of people had died.

"Princess, if you shoot..." but then the uniformed man moved to Athrun's side, one step ahead as to reach her.

Her arms trembled once more, this time along with her lips. She avoided looking at them.

"I know..." she said. "I know, but—!"

And when Athrun thought that everything would be fine by now, the uniform man suddenly collapsed.

Athrun managed to catch him before he hit the ground, squatting in the process. Cagalli yelled the man's name —which he couldn't hear, as he tried to find some notorious wound or something similar —and she knelt beside him.

"Princess... don't worry, I just want to sleep... for a while," the old man told her. He sounded tired, somehow convincing, but then his nose started to bleed. The focus of his vision dramatically disappeared and his face grew paler and paler.

_A blow to the head_ , Athrun assumed. _A very strong one and in a bad place._

"Young man," Athrun, who frowned in confusion, paid attention. "Please take care of the princess," he asked him and Athrun, as strange as it sounded, didn't have the heart to interrupt him. His friends would have made fun of him.

"She's a bit hasty and naive, but she's not a bad girl."

"What are you saying, Aldo?!" exclaimed the previously named princess. Her voice trembled at the end.

Athrun shook his head slightly.

"That's your job."

But the man only smiled before adding more seriously.

"It wasn't the red ones that shot us down... Please... Be careful..."

And with that said, he closed his eyes.

Athrun took his pulse and tried to get his heart to beat again with first aid, but to no avail. He didn't have the necessary equipment, and even if he did, there was no doctor who could save him. The blow was likely worse than they thought, but now there was no way and no reason to find out. There was no way to change what had happened.

The so-called princess, who had stepped aside, burst into tears.

"Aldo? Aldo?" Athrun considered backing up and giving her privacy. He didn't really want to accept it, but he wasn't the best with women, specially not with one he didn't knew at all. However, as if it were the illumination of some god, he remembered Aldo's words. Luckily he did, as he reacted just in time when she screamed: "Damn it!" at the same time she threw the gun.

In less than a second, Athrun jumped on her, surprising her when the gun went off.

"What do you think—?!"

"Who in their right mind throws a gun with an open bolt?!" but he spoke before she could say anything. Her chest rose and fell, she kept crying, but it was as if she was just processing what happened. She looked away.

"I—I'm sorry."

_At least she recognizes her errors_ , Athrun sighed and got up. He had to recover his gun and weigh his options better.

Cagalli —the princess, or whatever she was, got up too, but her tears didn't stop.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." she kept saying. "I'm sorry..."

At this point, Athrun didn't know if she was speaking to him or if she was just in shock. However, he refrained from answering for the moment while he searched for the first aid kit.

He hadn't been hurt, but night was drawing near and he didn't want to forget where he had left it.

"Hey," he called her.

He got no response, which made him turn to her.

Cagalli had moved from where she was. And, although she was not crying anymore, she was kneeling in the middle of both bodies.

He took a couple of steps toward her.

"Let's go," he said.

She didn't even bother to look at him.

"You don't have to take care of me. I can do it myself."

He rolled his eyes and exhaled. Maybe he should have expected it.

"Don't be immature," he tried to get closer, but she suddenly looked at him and hissed.

"Stay away from me!"

"We have to look for a cave or some kind of refuge," Athrun looked at the sky. It was darker and darker. "It's going to start raining sooner than later," he assumed.

She shook her head.

Once again, Athrun sighed.

"Don't tell me you want to bury them."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm not used to leaving my comrades just like that, you know," she practically spat at him. Good, he had upset her again.

Athrun thought it was foolish and useless. She would have to move the bodies away from the sea and dig holes over a meter deep.

Also, it wasn't as if he liked to leave his comrades behind...

He shook his head this time. This girl was unbelievable.

* * *

Cagalli didn't say goodbye to the soldier. She wasn't looking at him, but she could tell that he wasn't going to insist.

_I'm sorry... Kisaka, Aldo..._

This was her fault.

If only she hadn't...

But she had. She had brought them with her.

Cagalli then got up. She looked up at the sky and sighed. She couldn't leave them like that... Cagalli just couldn't.

She headed towards the crashed plane. While the landing had rubbed off and caused parts to catch fire, it hadn't been enough to wreck the entire transport.

She searched and searched among the objects, she found some things that might come in handy later, but as she guessed, there wasn't something even close to a shovel that she could dig with.

Cagalli sighed. This was going to be harder than she initially thought, but she wouldn't give up.

Once she pulled herself together, Cagalli took a deep breath and decided to start by moving the bodies. Of course, she had to hurry.

Now, Cagalli was not a particularly weak woman. She had attended training sessions with her brother —much to the chagrin of her father —and she could tell that she was stronger than many men.

However ...

Both Kisaka and Aldo didn't qualify among those "many men". They were bigger, stronger and more capable than average.

It was exhausting, Cagalli took and struggled longer than expected and the dress didn't help much, but somehow she managed to move Kisaka's body to where she had planned. The problem, however, now was Aldo's body, which was further away from her and therefore closer to the tide, which was already beginning to rise.

But when she took a step towards the body...

"You did more than I expected," the soldier's voice startled her.

Cagalli glared at him. She couldn't say if he was mocking her.

"Should I take that as a compliment?"

The soldier shrugged, as if it was up to her to decide, and it was then that Cagalli noticed that he was now carrying a backpack with him, which he put aside.

Then he started to walk toward Aldo's body.

"What do you think you're doing?!" the soldier said nothing and at his silence, Cagalli became exasperated. "I am talking to you!"

"I'm trying to help, okay?"

But it was not until he took the body by the arms to drag it that Cagalli reacted.

"Eh?"

"If I help you, we will finish faster and we can leave before it starts to rain."

It sounded logical, of course, but Cagalli didn't understand. Why would he come back? She thought she'd done enough to frustrate him. At least, a lot of people grew tired of her faster than that.

"I told you that I can take care of myself! Don't listen to what Aldo told you!"

Then the soldier sighed. Oh, was he the exasperated one now

Cagalli felt like smiling, but the feeling didn't last long as the soldier spoke again:

"Too bad," he answered. "He passed away before I could refuse."

* * *

As Athrun said, with his help, they finished before the rain started. However, the aforementioned princess took her time to say goodbye in a prayer and then asked him to wait as she went to look for something to the not-in-good-shape plane. She emphasized the word wait especially.

Only then did the first drops begin to fall from the sky as it became cloudy and darker.

"I'm ready!" she announced.

Athrun had to do a double check when he saw her again. There was no gown anymore. It had been replaced by a pair of pants and a red t-shirt. Her hair was no longer decorated and it surprised him how he felt that this new outfit suit her better than the previous one.

"What?" she asked as they began their way.

Not that far from the sea nor from his unit there was a cave. It wasn't as big as they would like to, but it was going to serve their purpose to take refuge.

"Nothing," he said and then added while leading the way: "You don't look like a princess anymore."

Athrun could feel her glaring at him, but didn't look back. He lighted a fire.

"Don't call me princess," she said as she left her few belongings aside. "I don't like it."

She sat on the side of the fire to warm herself up a bit. He did the same, but on the opposite side.

Athrun looked at her.

"Then how do you want me to call you? Your majesty?"

She frowned and Athrun found himself quite delighted by her amber eyes looking directly into his.

"I've told you my name," she said. "Which reminds me..." she leaned a little closer to the fire as if she were watching an interesting movie on the TV. "I haven't heard yours, mister pilot."

Athrun exhaled.

"Was that your actual name?" he doubted and she shrugged.

"Maybe. Maybe not," she smiled, making clear that she first wanted to hear him. "So what's yours?"

Athrun put one last twig he found into the fire and then sighed. There weren't many princesses in the nearby countries. He could perhaps count them on one hand, but even though he had knowledge of that, he couldn't tell who was who due to the high security with which most of them lived. Also, it would be a headache to try to guess and this girl in front of him didn't seem like she was going to reveal it unless she really wanted to.

Thinking about that and with no energy to debate it, he nodded.

"Commander Athrun Zala," he introduced himself.

Athrun had expected surprise for her part, but when he looked at her again, she looked quite in shock.

" _Zala_..." she repeated carefully. "As in Patrick Zala?"

He nodded again.

"He's my father."

The princess exhaled. But not in relief.

" _Perfect_ ," he heard her saying. Not in a happy tone. "Simply perfect."

"I beg your pardon?"

She, who had stopped looking to put her hands to her face, as if something frustrated her, looked into his eyes again.

"You're Patrick Zala's son."

"Yes."

"And I almost shot you."

Athrun didn't quite understand why she brought that topic up again, but nodded anyways.

"That is correct."

"Ah..." she exhaled, exasperated. As if she couldn't believe what was in front of her. Then, all of sudden, she stood up, startling Athrun, and spoke again. "I'm Cagalli. Cagalli Yula Athha."

Athrun widened his eyes in realization.

_Cagalli Yula Athha._

Of course, that's why he felt like he had heard her name before.

She was not only a princess.

She was the daughter of Uzumi Nara Athha. Orb's lion.

And suddenly he was relieved that he had decided not to abandon her and actually take care of her, just as she was in deciding not to shoot him.


	2. Second Chapter

Some time passed as the rain got stronger. During that time no one spoke, thinking and evaluating the options they had at that moment.

Athrun sighed and looked toward the shore. While the tide wasn't strong enough to move his mobile suit yet, he hadn't counted on the storm. Soon, he decided, he would have to hide the gundam further inside.

On the other hand…

He looked at Cagalli. Although she didn't want to show it, it was obvious that she was tired. He had given her the blanket he had, but she didn't seem to want to lie down.

"Where were you headed?" Athrun asked then.

She looked up. Funny how the fire was reflected in her eyes.

"Hm?"

Athrun didn't know if she didn't understand the question or if she simply didn't listen to what he said. But he was not bothered by it and explained:

"What was Orb's lion's daughter doing on a plane, with only two bodyguards, in the middle of a war?"

"Ah…" she looked away as she hugged her knees. Suddenly, it was as if she were no longer an adult or an authority. Suddenly, she was only a girl. "I wanted to see it… by myself."

He frowned.

"What?"

"The war…"

"Why?" if he sounded surprised, it was because he really was.

"Because my father said that I knew nothing about what was happening and I wanted to know… I want to know," she looked at him again. "Why do you seem annoyed?"

Athrun blinked. Confused.

Was he annoyed? Well, yeah. Kind of.

"War is not something you can view as some kind of show," he said. Athrun remembered his friends dying in front of him. The feeling of being completely useless and insignificant compared to everyone and everything. She said he seemed annoyed, but even though it was part of his feelings at the moment, he felt more indignation. "Either you get involved or you don't. Orb decided to be a neutral nation. Thus, you shouldn't be involved. You do realize that now you're stuck here because of a whim, right?"

The princess pursed her lips, as if she was trying to stay calm. However, it didn't work.

And before he could apologize —since he realized that he practically said that her bodyguards died because of her— she spoke again:

"A whim?" she repeated, slowly —as if making sure she had listened correctly—, and then added with a different tone. Louder, frustrated… hurt. "It wasn't a whim! And of course I know that war is not something to appreciate! I want it to stop. Someone has to do it and I thought—!"

Athrun studied her face as she suddenly stopped whatever she was going to say. After a few seconds, however, she shook her head and exhaled, relaxing her shoulders.

Cagalli didn't say that she wanted to negotiate with his father.

"And thanks to that stupid thought of mine, Aldo and Kisaka are dead. Yeah. I get it. It's all my fault, isn't it?" she paused again, only to say in a much lower, yet just as sad tone of voice. Cagalli took a deep breath and looked at the sky only to avoid his gaze. "You're not going to stop until one of you is completely destroyed."

When she didn't look back at him, Athrun thought she would cry again.

Nevertheless, she didn't.

Of course, she didn't have to worry about it. Cagalli was the daughter of the representative of a neutral nation. Even if they were being pressured to choose a side, it wasn't something she should be involved with.

Athrun felt a bit guilty for saying that her empathy was a whim; however, he did not apologize.

"Isn't that how wars are?" he said instead, not expecting an answer though.

_Compared to that_ —war— he exhaled and looked around. Despite the cold and rain, that place was not so bad.

It was uncomfortable, yes. He wanted fresh food instead of cans or nutrition bars, of course. But he could endure it.

At least, for now.

"Then, what are you doing here?"

When she spoke again, the atmosphere changed. It stopped being tense and serious, became lighter and she looked back at him without any resentment-like feeling.

She seemed like someone who didn't hold grudges.

"There was a battle," he answered. "I wasn't supposed to be there, though. The ship I was in was attacked and I had to take off."

"And why don't you use your gundam to, I don't know, fly away from here?"

He looked at her eyes. Even though it wasn't uncommon for people to know about mobile suit types, it still surprised him.

But her eyes showed genuine curiosity about his decision, not about the mobile suit and how dangerous it — _he_ —could be.

Athrun sighed.

"It has little to no energy," he decided to be honest, although he knew it sounded stupid. "That's why I was on a ship to begin with."

"Hm…" Cagalli giggled. "How useful, huh…"

He feigned feeling offended, trying not to smile.

"Hey, at least it is doing something, okay?"

"Yeah. But I doubt someone will receive the rescue signal with this storm."

He doubted it as well, but didn't say it out loud.

* * *

Cagalli woke up to the sound of things falling and a loud "heck!"

For a second she felt disoriented. Where was she and what had happened? Cagalli couldn't remember when she fell asleep, but after seeing the soldier she had met the day before —Athrun— she remembered all the events that led her to be there.

"We have to go!" she heard him scream and supposed he meant going to the isle's interior. It was then that she realized how strong the storm was.

She jumped up. She knew that soon the seawater would cover the shore —where they were.

Quickly, she gathered both backpacks and began to put away the cans they had left outside as well as the blanket. She guessed that Athrun was taking care of his mobile suit, since she didn't see him around.

Cagalli left the cave and her clothes were soaked not only by the large amount of water that fell from the sky, but also by the water that came from the sea.

She was surprised, at the same time that she covered the backpacks with her body, that the water had not yet reached where they had been.

"Cagalli!" she heard and looked round. It was quite difficult to spot Athrun only by the sound of his voice in the middle of a damn storm. "Come!"

She felt his hand over her arm as he pulled. He was completely soaked as well, but didn't seem to care. At least not at the moment.

"Where?!" she asked.

But he didn't answer as he tried to cover his face with his forearm. Either he couldn't hear her or was too busy trying not to fall while leading the way.

They climbed a steep rocky slope —not without slipping a few times —and went into the jungle part of the island. It wasn't that leafy, but that didn't mean it was any easier to get through than the first time they did it earlier that day —or maybe yesterday?. If anything, it was even harder as it had a lot of mud and holes.

Athrun let go of her arm, but took her hand instead. It would be easier that way and neither thought deeply about the gesture.

They didn't stop nor talk until they found another cave.

Cagalli looked at it. Calling it a cave was acceptable, but it wasn't a cave exactly. It was a big, big rock that was stuck in the ground and had an opening wide enough for both of them to fit in and have room to spare even though it wasn't as big as the one they had previously been.

The rock had probably been there for a long time, as it had apparently fallen or slipped —due to the rains— from the not very high mountain.

Obviously, the tide wouldn't reach that place. One problem was solved, while the other…

"I'll try to light a fire… again," Athrun announced.

"Okay…" although Cagalli's voice showed no hope.

Even if he had a lighter, finding dry objects to burn would be the problem. Athrun, however, did it. Finding some wood and peeling off the wet bark. They had to wait for it to dry a bit more though.

She thought of Aldo and Kisaka. They would have been able to do the same. Athrun noticed how restless she was.

"You chose a good place for them, don't worry," he said.

Cagalli blinked.

"Am I that obvious?"

"Yes."

"Oh…"

The two of them were silent for a while longer. They had woken up suddenly, so they assumed it was still early morning, since it was still dark, but at least Cagalli didn't think she would be able to sleep again. Her clothes were cold and soaked, the fire helped, but she didn't want to make the environment more uncomfortable by sitting too close to the fire and, therefore, Athrun.

"Take off your clothes," then he suddenly suggested.

"Excuse me?!" she felt embarrassed. Of course she had thought about it, but…

Athrun's eyes widened when he realized what he said and how it sounded. He didn't know he was blushing, but he didn't notice Cagalli's face either as he awkwardly tried to explain.

"I—I mean! We don't need you to get sick. You can cover yourself with the blanket…" he looked at her out of the corner of his eye as she was openly glaring at him. "I won't look, I promise! I have no other—"

And then, she started laughing.

She was laughing at him.

"Fine, then!" she accepted. "But don't look or I'll really shoot you, okay?"

"I'd like to see you trying though," he joked.

And even though he wasn't looking at her, as he promised, he knew somehow she was smiling when she answered.

"Eh… Are you challenging me?"

"How could I dare, princess?"

"Oh, please, Mr. Pilot. I bet I can take your gun without you noticing again."

He rolled his eyes. He had underestimated her that time, he wouldn't do it again.

Once she finished, she put her clothes close to the fire to dry them.

"What about you?" she asked, worried.

He couldn't help but smile.

"It's waterproof," he pointed to his suit.

While they waited for the weather to improve, or for Cagalli's clothes to dry, they began to talk about trivial topics. About their positions, duties, stories… None of that would help the current situation, but they didn't feel it was boring or useless.

Athrun told her a little about his life. About the death of his mother and why his father was so obsessed with war. He at one point told her that if he were not a soldier, he would have pursued a career in robotics.

For her part, Cagalli spoke about Orb's situation and why she wanted to stop the war before it was involved. She talked about her life as a representative's daughter and that it wasn't really that she didn't like dresses, they just didn't seem practical.

"Oh, and I have a twin brother," she added. "He must be worried sick right now. He's the overprotective type."

"A brother?" Athrun frowned. As far as he knew, that wasn't true. "Does Orb have a prince?"

"Oh, no, he wasn't adopted by father," she simply said.

He raised an eyebrow and she moved her hand, downplaying the topic.

"It's complicated."

"Hm…"

Athrun didn't ask about it. Maybe it was uncomfortable for her, so he decided to change the topic.

"If you don't like dresses, why were you wearing one earlier?" he asked, genuinely curious.

She smiled. To be honest, it was because Mana, her nanny, had told her something really interesting about dresses.

At some point, they had stopped paying attention to the outside.

"Because it is easier to get help when you're a damsel in distress."

"Is it?"

She readjusted the blanket over her shoulders and looked at him gracefully.

"Well, you helped me, Mr. Pilot."

Athrun blinked. He had helped her, yes, but it wasn't because he had thought she was beautiful… was it?

He coughed avoiding her gaze, suddenly feeling shy, and noted, as the sun raised, that the rain had stopped.

"I have to, uh, I'm going to check on my gundam," he announced, standing up.

Cagalli did the same.

"Sure, I'll accompany you. We can look for something to eat too."

She also wanted to visit Aldo and Kisaka's graves. It wasn't because she would feel lonely.

Athrun looked at her. Her suggestion was plausible, but he shook his head.

"You should stay here," he said.

"But I wanna go."

"There is no need."

"Doesn't matter. I'll go anyways."

She pouted. Athrun thought that Aldo forgot to say that, along with being hasty and naive, the princess was really stubborn.

Then, he realized something and turned around. His face heating up.

"Athrun?"

"F-Fine, you can come," he said. Cagalli smiled. It's not like she needed his permission, but she felt glad that he wanted to go with her. However… "But could you put your clothes on?"

Cagalli looked at herself and noticed that the blanket wasn't as large as she thought it was. She instinctively knelt quickly and accepted. Her face has never felt so hot.


	3. Third Chapter

Athrun waited for her a few feet away while she finished dressing.

He looked up at the clear sky, as if just a few hours ago it wasn't full of dark clouds and strong winds.

As expected, the tide still hadn't returned to normal, still covering the shoreline and making it impossible for them to approach the plane at the moment.

Athrun exhaled and then Cagalli appeared beside him. She gave an "hm?", as if she were asking him what he was doing and trying to observe what he was observing.

"Where?" she asked.

"Uh, this way."

Pointing to the right, Athrun led Cagalli through the trees and plants. They both reached a small cliff that, far from being dangerous, was simply a steep descent.

"Wait here," he ordered. Cagalli raised an eyebrow. "Please?"

A playful smile crossed the princess's face as she nodded and Athrun was suddenly unable to hold her gaze.

He had stalled his gundam between two huge pointy rocks. The mobile suit, like the plane, was almost covered in water, so he had no way of opening the cockpit —which was perfectly sealed —if he didn't want to soak up and ruin all the controls. However, Athrun still approached to verify that the rescue signal was still working.

"Hey!" Cagalli's voice made him spin. She was leaning forward and her hands were around her mouth. "Do you think you can catch something from there?!"

Athrun, who was standing on one of the rocks, looked out into the blue water and narrowed his eyes. A few seconds after seeing shadows moving quickly, he nodded.

"If you find something pointy!" he replied.

Cagalli raised both eyebrows and looked back. Later she returned the way they both came.

A few minutes passed, Athrun wasn't sure how many, but enough for him to begin to consider going back. However, within seconds of thinking about it, Cagalli reappeared.

She raised two branches of different thickness and size. One seemed that at any moment it would make her lose her balance, the other was more practical, but without a point.

Well, that was something he could fix.

She got as close as she could and gave him the stick as best she could, almost throwing it like a spear. Which, from some other point of view, would be a funny scene to watch, since Athrun had to dodge it.

He glared at her.

"Are you trying to kill me?!"

"Of course not!" she answered and after a few seconds, added: "Maybe I was trying to catch you!"

Athrun blinked and then laughed a little. That didn't sound like something a princess would say.

But again, a princess wouldn't know how to remove the safety from a gun either.

Pulling out the dagger hidden in his suit, Athrun began to sharpen the tip of the stick. It didn't take long, and Cagalli didn't let him delay when she asked him to hurry.

He rolled his eyes and pierced the first fish with the makeshift spear. He seriously doubted that she would have been able to take care of herself given the situation, but he didn't say it out loud even when they started cooking the fish on the campfire.

Cagalli made a face when noticing that it obviously didn't even have salt, but she didn't complain.

"So how long do you think it will take them to find us?" she asked him.

Athrun thought about it as he finished trying to make the seawater drinkable; since he not only had to boil it, but to accommodate two leaves large enough that they could trap the steam from which they could finally be able drink.

The storm sure had blunted the signal; however, he knew that at some point someone would intervene it. Enemies or allies, depending on how they saw him or how Cagalli saw them.

"Not much," he said then, taking a sip of the water and frowning. He could still feel the salt and it was hot. Terrible combination.

Cagalli said a simple "I see" before turning her attention to the other side of the isle. Athrun smiled at her dubiousness.

"Come on," he offered, getting up. "The water isn't going to boil any faster anyway."

She smiled in thanks. Cagalli never mentioned wanting to visit the graves of her bodyguards, so she was surprised by how attentive this soldier was.

However, as the path they had taken the day before was practically blocked by the tide, they had to circle on the opposite side, passing more bushes and plants than before. This time it was Athrun who led the way and helped her without a second thought when she struggled with difficult places —though it's not like she couldn't have done it herself.

As curious and weird as it was, they both found it a pleasure to walk hand in hand whenever they got the chance. But of course none could have said it out loud, even if they had noticed it for themselves.

"If you weren't here now, what would you be doing?" she asked at some point.

Athrun shrugged.

"Probably strategizing with Nicol or discussing such strategies with Yzak."

"Your friends?" Cagalli looked at him with a raised eyebrow and Athrun cleared his throat somewhat embarrassed.

Although he wouldn't call Yzak "friend" in front of him.

"Officially subordinates, but yes," he replied to keep it brief. He then looked at her. "What about you?"

This time it was Cagalli who shrugged.

"Hm..." she thought about it for a few seconds. As the daughter of Uzumi Nara Athha, Cagalli didn't have many obligations that really necessitated her presence. Maybe attend some classes. Help some charities or accompany her father to his meetings with the other representatives. In the worst case, she would simply be avoiding any contact with Prime Minister Seiran and his son at some party or special lunch.

It was those monotonous moments that had made her want to find out more about the current war and do something about it.

"Nothing that important," she said quietly.

But before Athrun could comment, they both sighted the pair of graves. Not wanting to extend the topic or delay her visit, Cagalli hastened her pace.

As expected, although the tide hadn't reached where they were, the storm had done its thing by turning the land to mud and destroying the crosses she had placed on top of it. Cagalli sighed and bent down to reshape it with the twigs she had found at the time.

Once she finished, since it didn't take five minutes, Cagalli interlocked her fingers and prayed silently, apologizing once more.

Athrun watched her silently and also offered a prayer, even though he wasn't sure if they were praying to the same god, he knew that their intentions didn't change.

Then, he heard something.

Athrun frowned and turned on his heel to face the sea. The sky was no longer completely clear as a few moments ago, perhaps warning another storm or being a bad omen of something that was about to happen; however, he concentrated on the sound.

He had heard it before, as a soldier.

"A skygrasper?!"

His heartbeat increased and he ran towards Cagalli interrupting her prayers and taking her by the arm towards the interior of the isle.

"H-Hey! What—?"

At the time he prayed to all the gods he could think of that his gundam signal was still hampered by the weather.

They both hid behind a tree. On instinct, Athrun covered her with his body, as if there were no other hiding places, while he concentrated more on finding out where the unit came from. Cagalli, who had nowhere else to move, couldn't help but feel very aware of his closeness.

Athrun's gaze followed the atmospheric support fighter. Its speed was comparable to that of a mobile suit, but it was only a support unit for specific models. He knew they were created by EA, but he couldn't tell from such a distance whether it was the enemy of ZAFT —the Atlantic Federation —or Orb.

Either way, he still breathed a sigh of relief when it just passed by, seemingly unable to pick up the sign of his unit.

"It's gone?" Cagalli asked in a low voice, as if someone else was going to listen to them, and only then was Athrun aware of the closeness of the princess's body.

"Uh, ah—yeah! Sorry!"

He pulled away from her and took a couple of steps back, nearly losing his balance as his heel hit a half-buried rock.

"Were they enemies?" Cagalli asked, trying to change the topic and ignoring the awkwardness.

Athrun shook his head. He was a soldier for God's sake, he shouldn't be so affected by that — _by her._

"ZAFT's enemies, maybe," he answered looking at the sky just in case the skygrasper returned.

"Will they come back?"

When they picked up the signal from his gundam, or just to inspect that isle again even though it was not their territory. Even if Orb had already dispatched a search party and the news had already reached the other nations.

Then he remembered:

_"It wasn't the red ones that shot us down."_

He nodded.

"Yes, most likely."

Cagalli noticed that Athrun was suddenly silent, perhaps wondering what he would have to do if they were indeed part of the Atlantic Federation. One of his hands was touching his jaw, the other was clenched into a fist.

Athrun definitely didn't want to have to fight, not only because he didn't have enough energy in the gundam and that would be an obvious disadvantage, but because he didn't want Cagalli to see what a war really is.

He didn't want her to see what a battlefield is, where death doesn't distinguish or discriminate against anyone and, of course, he didn't want to put her in danger —not only because apparently he had grown attached to her in that day and a half, but because it would be a big problem if she ended up dead and the Atlantic Federation blamed the ZAFT soldier for it.

Athrun was so deep in thought that he didn't notice when Cagalli approached. He flinched when she grabbed his hand between hers, forcing him to relax his fingers.

"Let's go back for now?" she suggested.

He exhaled and smiled before nodding. There was no use stressing out at that time.

* * *

Returning to their —now called by Cagalli —base, she offered to watch the fish. He hadn't realized it, but the hours had passed quite quickly as they talked and walked around the isle.

Cagalli told him that the last time someone had let her take care of the meal was when her nanny got sick. Of course, she didn't do anything extremely delicious —in fact, she would dare say it was the opposite —but both her father and brother smiled as they ate.

Athrun, even he didn't admit it, was envious. Since the war started, even before, he hadn't shared a single meal with his father. Patrick Zala might be an excellent military man and have great ambitions, but he wasn't nearly the best father. He hadn't been since his mother passed away.

"Haven't you talked to him about it?" Cagalli asked without looking at him.

Athrun shrugged.

"He doesn't have time for his son, only for the commander. I'm used to it."

"Are you?"

He didn't expect her to reply, but apparently she didn't expect him to either.

So he didn't and she apologized for saying more than necessary. However strange it was, he didn't feel offended or upset. Cagalli was the first person to say something like that to him and even though it made it real, it also made him want to face it.

Then, in the silence that surrounded them as she began to pull the fish out of the fire, he heard her humming a song.

"Do you like Lacus Clyne?" he asked before thinking about it when he recognized the song.

Cagalli, who seemed to have forgotten he was there, jumped a little, obviously startled, dropping one of the skewers literally on the fire.

"Ah!" he watched her debate with herself about getting it out or not, but she soon exhaled and let it burn to ashes. Then she glared at him. "Why did you do that?!"

Athrun blinked in confusion. "Do what?"

"Ugh! You're the one who got one less slice, got it?!"

When Athrun started laughing, it was Cagalli's turn to look at him in confusion. Oh, he was laughing at her.

Wiping his eye, he looked up at her with a smile.

"Seriously, how would you have survived between yesterday and today like that?"

_The audacity._

"What does that have to do with this?"

That he had been the one who caught the food and that he would be the one to do it again if it ran out. However, Athrun decided not to say it when he reached over to take what she had set aside for him.

"Thank you," he said.

A pout later, Cagalli just uttered a "Hmph!" before sitting next to him to eat.

Athrun watched her eat in silence and smiled to himself. Once Lacus told him that lately he no longer smiled like he used to and he replied that he couldn't fight a war with a smile on his face; nevertheless, this girl made him laugh and smile so easily that it scared him.

Cagalli wasn't ignorant of Athrun's gaze and, as if it were some important political event, she actually cared not to look bad in front of him.

He was rare, Cagalli thought.

Of course, she didn't think it was a bad thing. He kind of reminded her of Kira, her twin, and she felt that they would get along very well if one day they got to know each other…

Cagalli suddenly looked down.

Would that even be possible? Athrun was already fighting the war and if Orb got involved, Kira would have to too. Possibly they would face each other and…

"Is something the matter?" then his worried voice interrupted her thoughts. She looked up.

"Uh… no, just…"

"Just?" he insisted, tilting his head.

Cagalli rolled her eyes. Maybe she was overthinking it.

"When this is all over, don't you want to visit Orb?"

The question surprised them both. Neither he expected to hear it nor she to say it, but Cagalli didn't regret doing it and waited for him to process it.

"Are you serious?"

Cagalli looked at him confused. Why would she lie?

"Of course! Father will surely have some party or something to celebrate the end of the war and you can bring someone else… if you want."

"Someone else?"

"Yes, your father, your friends, or some girlfriend—"

Cagalli blinked at what was coming out of her mouth and then swallowed hard. Suddenly, she realized she was curious to know about it.

She watched him out of the corner of her eye.

Athrun was handsome and kind —no doubt —, he had a very respectable position in the military and she was sure that money wasn't a problem for him. He was the perfect match. There was no way he didn't have suitors.

Cagalli shook her head, under the confused gaze of the soldier, and exhaled. She didn't have to think about that. Barely more than 24 hours had passed since they had arrived on that isle. It wasn't normal.

But, she thought. She wouldn't mind getting to know him better.

"Orb, huh…"

"What do you say?"

Athrun had never been to Orb and had never thought about it. Nations other than his own had always been irrelevant to him since the death of his mother and his enlistment in the military. In fact, if Cagalli hadn't said it, Athrun might still not even think about when the end of the war came.

It felt far away.

He looked towards the horizon for a few seconds and then he looked at Cagalli again. He would like to know the country that this girl was so proud of.

"Sure," he replied. He would like to do it, if he survived to the end, of course.

But Cagalli wasn't really satisfied with that answer. If she had to say it in some way, she would say that he didn't sound enthusiastic enough, as if he didn't believe her or as if he thought getting excited was in vain.

"It's a promise, right?"

Athrun frowned when he saw Cagalli with her little finger raised. Her amber eyes regarded him with shrewdness and perseverance, but also some other feeling that he couldn't understand —maybe because she couldn't either.

Athrun smiled and raised his little finger as well.

"I promise," once he said it out loud, she smiled like it was the happiest news she had ever heard. Athrun wondered if it was at least the happiest news of those days.

His heart beat warmly at the thought of him making her smile too, but at the same time, for some reason, he panicked —or maybe got embarrassed?— and added:

"Can you even dance though?"

Soon, the smile was replaced by bewilderment and then her gaze filled with a familiar fire.

"Of course! I'm sure I'm a better dancer than you at least."

The statement took him by surprise, but not because he didn't believe her. Cagalli was surely used to going to high-ranking balls and parties since she was little while he had only just started attending a few years ago.

But she had no way of knowing.

"Are you? Wearing a dress?"

Cagalli frowned indignantly.

She then smiled as if she remembered something and crossed her arms.

"Well, if you want I can show you."

This time it was Athrun who frowned. First because there wasn't enough space among all those threes and bushes; second, there was no music and third, the dress?

But Cagalli only smiled.

"You'll see. Tomorrow."

He blinked. Suddenly, all confidence disappeared. However, as the son of Patrick Zala, he wasn't going to turn his back on any challenge… Whatever the princess had planned.


	4. Fourth Chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song I was listening to when I wrote this ch was Distance by FictionJunction and I like to believe it suits them really well, so you should listen while reading if u can!

When the tide had completely gone out, Athrun realized that they had been three whole days.

Well, it wasn't like he didn't know it, but it was only now that he was paying attention to it.

His eyes fell on the cockpit of his gundam, determined to open it. Cagalli had gotten up early and, although they had had breakfast together, she told him to wait for her there or somewhere other than where they spent — _almost_ —the first night, at least until after noon.

Athrun wondered if they would at least have lunch…

He exhaled and opened the hatch. A few drops fell inside, but nothing that was too serious. He sat inside and turned on the screens. Nothing on the radar.

Then he looked at the status of the intercom and tried to communicate —the truth, without much effort or hope —but he could only hear static.

He shook his head and leaned his back against the seatback. He was relieved in one way and guilty in another. Of course, Athrun wanted to go back to his squad even if it meant going back to war, but at the same time he wanted to stay there. However, he also knew that he wouldn't be thinking like that if Cagalli weren't there.

He smirked. His father would be so disappointed and Athrun didn't even care or count it as one of the reasons to come back.

He didn't know when he relaxed so much that he closed his eyes, but by the time he opened them again it was only to see from one of the gundam main cameras that Cagalli was looking for him.

Athrun blinked in confusion thinking about what he had done to make her look so upset and concerned. Then he remembered what she had told him and deactivated the gundam to later leave the cockpit.

"Athrun!"

Her brow was furrowed and she had her arms crossed.

"Ah, sorry, I was checking something!"

Cagalli was silent for a moment, as if she was wondering if she should believe him or not, only to then exhale.

If he knew her a little more, Athrun would have known that she was relieved to see him there.

However, a couple of seconds later, Cagalli put aside her apparent anger to look at him once more.

"Well, let's not waste any more time."

"Eh?"

Cagalli rolled her eyes at Athrun's apparent confusion and began to push him the way she had come. Athrun gulped, for a moment he thought she would forget about the day before, but apparently Cagalli had more competitive spirit than he had expected.

He grinned out of inertia. It wasn't a bad thing.

She led him to where they had hidden from the rain the first day and unlike the rest of the coast, there was no seaweed or clam scraps or anything like that.

"Did you clean it up?" he asked surprised.

"Why do you think I got up earlier?" she answered. She then shrugged. "I would have cooked something, but I ate quite a bit in the morning and I had no fire... Or fish. Do you want to eat though?"

Athrun put a hand to his stomach and, after thinking for a few seconds, he shook his head. He had fallen asleep and missed the time they normally ate lunch. He would probably be hungry later, but it wasn't something he couldn't bear.

"Well then…" Cagalli smiled and walked away from him to head to the cave. But halfway there she seemed to think of something and turned to look at him. "Wait a minute here."

Athrun nodded.

* * *

Cagalli picked up the backpack that she had left on the ground and hugged it against her body. She normally wouldn't be as excited about putting on a dress or dancing with someone, but she had to admit it: she wanted to dance with Athrun and show him that she could do it like any other girl in her position.

She had made an effort to make space around where they were to be able to dance and she imagined that this is how their assistants back at home felt when her father planned a celebration.

Then, she began to undress.

When Cagalli appeared again, Athrun suddenly felt the difference between them. He had no idea how she had gotten her dress back and he couldn't help but look her up and down, just to make sure she was the same girl she had been with him a few minutes ago. Although her hair wasn't tied back like the first time he saw her, it didn't ruin the looks at all.

Cagalli was definitely a princess when she wanted.

Which made him feel a bit shaken.

She looked at him with concern when he didn't say anything.

"Are you okay?"

Her amber eyes made Athrun avoid her gaze.

"Uh… how are we going to dance without music?" he mentioned then feeling a bit stupid.

The smile Cagalli showed him didn't relax him one bit. She decided to go back to the cave just to bring the backpack that she had left there. She looked like she had stored her clothes there, but when she reached in, what came out of it was an old —very old —type of music player.

She showed him the object and, although her expression changed a bit, she didn't lose her smile when he asked her where she got it from.

"It was among Aldo's belongings," she explained. "It sure has songs from many years ago, but I don't think it matters, does it?"

Athrun didn't really care about it, but he felt that if he only said that, Cagalli's expression wasn't going to be as bright as it was until a little while ago.

He scratched his head and looked round. A smile appeared on his face when he spotted something interesting.

Cagalli looked at him confused as he moved away for a few minutes towards the jungle part of the isle. For a second she thought maybe he really wasn't interested in all of that, but then he reappeared with a few orange flowers in his hands.

"May l?" he asked her and she, still confused, nodded.

Athrun then proceeded to arrange the flowers in her hair. He felt bad for letting her handle all of this.

Cagalli felt her heart warm.

The atmosphere changed and then, when Athrun finished, Cagalli decided to turn on the device and play the first song she recognized.

Interestingly, when the music started Athrun also knew what it was. Long before his mother died and his father became obsessed with war, they used to dance that same song in the study of his home.

The simple memory made any insecurity disappear and he bowed slightly to Cagalli's surprise.

She smiled and accepted the implied invitation by doing the same. Athrun placed one of his hands on her waist and Cagalli rested one of hers on his shoulder only to later join the other two.

Then they started.

Athrun took the lead and Cagalli didn't take a second to adjust to it. The song wasn't very loud due to the lack of a speaker and the noise of the waves, but they didn't care. At that moment, both of them focused solely on each other.

Cagalli almost never danced with men other than her brother and father, and although they were both very good dancers, Athrun was simply different. The feeling of security that he gave her was different from the protection that her relatives gave her, the closeness she felt with him was different from the one she had with Kira. Of course, she didn't feel very good comparing them. He was still a little tense —perhaps reflecting her— but she was sure Athrun would relax sooner rather than later.

And she wasn't wrong.

When Athrun realized that Orb's style was slightly different from that of the PLANTs, he could better understand what he had to do. He pulled Cagalli a little closer to him and then, he followed the perimeter that surrounded them with their steps. Picking up the pace slightly.

Cagalli smiled and then, too, relaxed, daring to close her eyes to enjoy the moment more.

She trusted Athrun.

And for a moment, the isle was no longer an isle, but a huge ballroom.

Athrun imagined that moment as if it were the first time they had met. At a dance, like in a fairy tale. After the war, he and his father would be invited to Orb along with the leaders of the Atlantic Federation. There would be tension, yes, but once Cagalli appeared with her father, coming down the stairs and being introduced to everyone, with that smile, all tension would disappear.

He spun her, and then they both got even closer.

During the party, Athrun would likely be challenged by his friends —Yzak and Dearka, to be precise— to ask someone to dance due to his father's insistence on making connections. Nicol would be appreciating the orchestra and other couples would already be dancing. And only under so much pressure would he approach the princess to ask for a dance.

Both her father and she would look at him in surprise at first, but she would soon smile brightly to accept.

Athrun and Cagalli coordinated their steps with precision, as if they had been dance partners all their lives.

He smiled.

Perhaps she would have invited him. Without caring about the curious gazes of other people and without being pressured by someone else. She would reach out her hand and he would take it, they would politely smile at each other and begin to dance.

For them, it was no longer a beach, but a great hall. For both of them, their families and friends would get along, very well, as they did. They would take control of the dance floor and everyone would admire their timing.

They circled the perimeter without stopping dancing and reached the point where they started, pausing there for a while.

They looked at each other and, after a smile, began again. This time, the steps became slightly more complicated and elaborated. One wouldn't normally dance that way with someone they just met, especially since the style varied from country to country, but either Orb and PLANTs were very similar, or they understood what the other was going to do more clearly than they imagined.

It was almost perfect.

However, the day wasn't infinite, and neither were the dances. Sooner than later the sun would disappear and in the image of his head, Athrun would have to let go of Princess Cagalli's hand and he could have done nothing to stop her.

In a world where they would have met each other differently, they would have to go different ways sooner than they would like to.

Cagalli thought Athrun's expression was sad, which worried her.

"Athrun?" she called out, surprising him.

Even though at no point they had stopped, they were soon forced to do so when Cagalli tripped over a stone she hadn't seen before. Their scenario disappeared and the lonely beach came back. They both fell and, although a little taken aback, began to laugh. The song was coming to an end.

She looked at him. Her smile didn't go away.

"You are a lousy dance partner," she told him.

He looked back at her. Neither got up from where they were and instead they lay down for a while, side by side.

"Says the one who tripped."

"You were leading!"

Athrun laughed again and then looked up at the sky. This time there was no cloud of any kind and instead, many colors appeared.

"I was thinking…" he spoke then, before he knew it. "If we had met in something more official. Maybe—"

"I don't think so," she cut him off and he looked back at her. Cagalli raised a hand to the sky, as if she wanted to reach it, and she continued speaking. "We would've met each other as Athrun Zala, son of the great military man Patrick Zala, and Cagalli Yula Athha, daughter of Orb's lion. And we wouldn't have talked as we do now… We wouldn't know each other as we do now…"

"Cagalli…"

She lowered her hand and looked at him. He smiled.

"I'm glad I met you," he said simply.

Cagalli was speechless, but she couldn't disagree. She also liked having met him.

With a smile, Cagalli took Athrun's hand again and helped —forced —him to get up. She had put the dress on, she would make good use of it.

So she played another song and they both started dancing again, and they didn't stop for a while.

* * *

When night fell and the stars illuminated the place, they both decided to return to the interior of the island and Athrun lit a fire to cook the fish they had left. However —he smiled —when he turned to hand Cagalli's portion to her, she had already fallen asleep without even bothering to change.

Athrun sighed. Of course she must be exhausted after everything she had done.

He wrapped her in the blanket and he ate what he made so it wouldn't spoil.

He looked up at the sky as he settled himself a safe distance from the fire, leaning his back against the cave wall. Cagalli, who woke up for a moment, decided —maybe she did it without really thinking about it —to approach Athrun and rest her head on his shoulder.

He smiled and sighed. They both probably knew that the fairy tale would soon come to an end.


	5. Last Chapter & Epilogue

When Athrun woke up —with a slight pain in the neck from the bad position —the first thing he saw was that Cagalli was still peacefully asleep on his shoulder. Her lips were parted and her breathing was calm, judging by the position of the blanket on her body, neither of them had moved much.

Athrun decided to let her sleep and got up carefully. Since it was still early, he figured it would be best to go check the radar status of his gundam or if someone had responded to the S.O.S signal that he sent the first day.

He licked his lips as he avoided some palm trees — some kind of palm tree —and thought that fishing would be more tedious now. In fact, Athrun worried that he wouldn't be able to fish or get anything to eat at all. As far as he had seen, there weren't even any fruits or animals, and that the tide had gone out didn't help at all.

He took a deep breath and exhaled. He didn't want to say out loud what he was really thinking. He didn't want to think about what he was thinking.

He looked up at the sky and frowned when he heard a beep. It wasn't continuous, but it was constant. Then he opened his eyes and hurried to get to his gundam.

Just as he entered the cockpit, he took the radio. There was a lot of static, but Athrun managed to hear something.

_"Athrun?... Athrun!"_

"Nicol!"

However, when he was just processing the relief that they were allies, another signal —stronger and closer —appeared on the radar.

The first person that appeared in his mind was the princess of Orb.

_"Athrun, we are… o… our way."_

"Wait—"

_"Is some…thing th… matter?"_

He found himself in confusion without realizing it. Obviously, coming from opposite directions, both signals couldn't be from ZAFT. If they were from the Atlantic Federation and they crossed paths, there would definitely be a battle, and Cagalli —Orb —would be involved.

He pursed his lips. Logically, Athrun knew which was the decision that would benefit ZAFT and the safest, but…

That was not what she wanted.

However, he couldn't let the Federation take the gundam from ZAFT. That would be even more dangerous.

"No. Come as soon as possible, enemies are likely to appear."

_"Understood."_

He exhaled and loaded his gun. He would think about the rest later.

* * *

Cagalli woke up to the sound of an engine. Athrun wasn't at her side or in the surroundings, but she didn't dare to call out to him.

She gulped and got up. It didn't even cross her mind that she was still wearing the same dress when she decided to come over to investigate.

Easily, Cagalli knew that the sound wasn't that of a skygrasper —as Athrun had called it. It was kind of deeper and different from that of an airship.

She walked among the trees and bushes. While the path hadn't changed, it was no longer slippery or muddy for her to fall into. She followed the sound to where the abandoned wreckage of the plane was and hid behind a log while she watched discreetly.

Her heart pounded when she noticed it was a mobile assault ship and she thought of returning as soon as possible to warn Athrun, but there was something different —or perhaps known? —in them that made her stay.

Cagalli squinted to see better. There was a brown-haired woman and a blond man. Perhaps there were more officers inside, but those outside were looking into the wreckage of the plane.

She knew then, they were looking for her.

And at that moment, Athrun's warm hand encircled her wrist, startling her.

"Let's go," he told her quietly as he started to pull.

Cagalli noticed that he was serious and her amber eyes fell on the weapon he held with his other hand.

"Where?"

He didn't meet her eyes.

"We have to get away. Those uniforms are from the Federation."

But Cagalli didn't move.

"Where?" she repeated.

"Cagalli…"

"Athrun…"

Then he exhaled in surrender.

"My friends are on the way. If we're lucky there won't be any battles," he explained looking out of the corner of his eye at the battleship.

But she shook her head.

"You know I can't go."

Whether she wanted to go with him was a totally separate matter, but as the Athha's only child, she simply couldn't forget her duty.

This time Athrun's green eyes searched hers.

"You will be with me, safer than with the Federation, I'll make sure of that," he promised.

If Cagalli had known him a little better, she would know that he was practically begging. Begging for one more day with her at least.

However, she shook her head again.

"But no safer than Orb," she replied.

"Cagalli, do you think that…?"

Athrun found himself unable to finish what he said. Of course, it was normal for her to think that way. Just as Orb could be forced to support ZAFT for rescuing their princess, ZAFT could force Orb to support them by holding her hostage.

"Of course not!" but she quickly dismissed the idea.

However, before they could continue their little discussion, they both heard the click of a gun safety.

"Let the lady go, boy. We don't want trouble."

The blond soldier was looking directly at them with a gun drawn. They didn't have much more to think about. Athrun placed Cagalli behind him, without her objecting, and also pointed his gun.

"What if I refuse?" he challenged. Honestly, he hoped that Nicol and the others would be on time.

But the soldier —or rather, lieutenant from what the uniform showed, only shrugged.

"Well, we have a whole ship here while you are alone."

However, he couldn't say anything when Cagalli decided to step in.

"One moment."

Athrun felt Cagalli's hand squeeze his shoulder just before she took a step forward and stood between the two soldiers.

His eyes —and the lieutenant's —widened in surprise.

"Cagalli?!"

But when she looked back at him, he knew: she was worried about him.

Cagalli, of course, wouldn't want blood to be shed in vain. But, the problem was, if they were from the Atlantic Federation, the blood shed would be of his own people.

Even though he didn't want her to hate him…

But before he could even think of doing something unwise, someone else's voice, coming from the direction of the ship, caught their attention.

"Cagalli?"

She then turned in the voice's direction. If Athrun had been staring at her head on, he would've been able to see the surprise and subsequent relief in her expression before seeing her run towards said person.

"Kira!"

The young man who had appeared, like the others, was wearing a Federation uniform —a ensing's uniform. But, instead of feeling betrayed, Athrun watched as the two embraced almost desperately in obvious confusion.

"Ah, the fun is over," the blond lieutenant seemed to joke before putting the gun away from him. Athrun watched him. "We will explain what this is everything about if you promise not to make trouble."

Athrun raised both eyebrows and looked back at Cagalli. She and the ensing had already separated, but had started talking as if nothing was happening around them.

They were so happy to see each other, there was no doubt about that.

Although he couldn't trust them, Athrun decided that listening would be the best option for now. It was likely, however, that Nicol and the others were already close.

* * *

Cagalli approached him then and took his arm, her emotion was a bit obvious.

She introduced him —with no mention of his last name —to her twin brother, Kira, and he introduced them to The Archangel, as the ship and team were called.

However, that was it for introductions.

"So I trust you are not part of the Federation?" he asked carefully.

Kira nodded and proceeded to explain that it was easier for ZAFT to think they were enemies than for them to conclude that one of Orb's most important people was in their territory.

Athrun had to accept it, but he didn't say it out loud.

"I'm really grateful to you for taking care of my sister," Kira said then. "I know how stubborn she can be…"

"Kira!" Cagalli tried to scold him and Athrun chuckled.

"Don't mention it."

"Nevertheless…" Kira added, more serious this time. "Although Orb would like to formally thank you, I trust this will stay between us, right?"

While it was a question, having all the officers put a hand to their respective weapons indicated that it was more of a warning. Cagalli was about to protest when Athrun shook his head. There was no point in trying to argue, there was not even something they could argue about. He would have done in their place.

"I can give you my word. That's all I can do," Athrun said.

And Cagalli smiled warmly before turning to her brother.

"You can trust him, Kira, he's a lousy dancer just like you."

Kira raised an eyebrow more than confused, but it was the lieutenant —and probably other soldiers —who laughed. Neither would dare tell Kira what it probably meant that his beloved sister held another man in such high regard.

And before he could ask them himself how close they had become, one of the communication officers poked their heads out.

"Captain Murrue, we are picking up unknown signals!"

"Understood!" the brown-haired woman replied.

Athrun looked at the woman in admiration before sighing.

"It must be my team," he said.

Cagalli looked at him worried once more.

"Are you sure?"

He smiled at her.

"I told you they were coming."

There was a somewhat awkward silence in which neither really knew how to say goodbye, so, thinking there was nothing more to say, Athrun nodded once, as if he were saying his farewell, before turning around.

It was when he was already about ten meters away that he heard Cagalli calling him.

"Athrun, wait!"

He turned and, as soon as he did, she gave him a quick hug —so fast that he couldn't even respond —and took off the pendant she had to put it on him.

Athrun frowned in confusion as he saw the pinkish stone reflect the light and then looked at Cagalli. She smiled at him.

"It's a stone amulet of Haumea," Cagalli explained. "They say it has the blessing of the Goddess Haumea and that it gives protection to whoever wears it," soon, her expression stopped being bright and changed to a little more desperate. "Have it protect you."

Athrun did not smile when he asked:

"Even if there have to be more casualties like Kisaka and Aldo?"

Cagalli's expression hardened, but she didn't lose her determination even as she rested her forehead on his chest, surprising Athrun and making his heart race.

"Just make sure you keep your promise," she told him. "I don't want anyone else to die."

* * *

Athrun didn't explain to his subordinates the reason why they were letting go of the battleship they had on radar. Neither did he show them the pendant nor did he tell them many details about the days he spent on the isle. The excuse he used the most was that he was tired, but maybe only Nicol knew that there was more story behind what he said.

Luckily, or maybe because he knew it wasn't necessary, Nicol didn't insist further and convinced Dearka and Yzak to let him rest while they helped move his gundam with theirs.

Athrun looked at the pinkish amulet in his hands. He spun it around, swung it from side to side like a pendulum, then sighed to put it back on.

He peered through the gundam cameras to the east, from where the "enemy" ship had appeared.

 _"Then I will try to end the war as soon as possible,"_ he had told Cagalli.

She smiled at him as if she expected no less and then they both went their ways.

He pressed the stone close to his chest and leaned back in the seat.

He wondered how long it would be before they could dance together again.

* * *

**Epilogue**

Cagalli sat in front of her dressing table while her assistants arranged her hair with ribbons.

On that day, at last, after three years, the war was officially over and, as she had promised, a ball would be launched to celebrate the new peace and say goodbye to those who had left.

She looked at herself in the mirror and pursed her lips. Her father had died during the war and Orb, despite everything, had been involved. And when it did, Cagalli remembered what he had once told her.

_"War is not something you can view as some kind of show."_

Only then had she understood, perhaps.

Cagalli took a deep breath when they told her it was time. Her gown, coincidentally or not, was the same color as that day.

And then, when she came out into the hall, she felt the stares of everyone who had decided to attend. Representatives of all nations, their sons and daughters, some reporters, etc, etc.

At no point did she look for him in the crowd. Cagalli didn't want to do it.

She saw Kira chatting with someone, but a minister called her just before she could see the other person. She chatted a bit, she turned down an offer to dance and sat next to her brother, who finished asking one of the assistants for something.

"Do you need something?" she asked.

Kira, with a serene smile, shook his head and said "Not me".

Then, the current song suddenly stopped, confusing those who were already dancing, to be replaced by another. An older one.

Cagalli stopped whatever she was doing when she recognized it and soon enough, someone touched her shoulder. Her heart jumped and she turned, afraid of being disappointed.

But his green eyes, although a little more mature and tired, were the same as that time.

"May I have this dance?" he bowed. The amulet pending from his neck.

Cagalli smiled then, almost tearing up, and bowed as well. She was so happy to see him.

"I bet you're still a lousy dance partner."

And of course, he was happy as well.

Athrun smiled. Challenge accepted.

"You'll see."


End file.
